Shopping for heels: try them on?

[inscapable]

Have to. Don't wanto buy what don't fit.

[pumpedup]

I wanted to add something that i found interesting. Last night, I went to a local Macy's and bought the Nine West "Freda" pump. The male cashier asked me "is this a gift for someone?" Maybe there ARE a lot of men who buy women's shoes for themselves out there, and maybe Macy's (and other department stores) are aware of that? I don't know, if i were ever working in a lady's shoe department (I would LOVE to do that!) that i would ever ask a man, "are the shoes a gift for someone?" unless the store requested that i ask that. Anyway, i am disappointed in the color I got. I got the brown patent, because in the light they looked red. I should have just got the black patent ones. Anyway, they are beautiful pumps and i would recommend them to anyone!

[JeffB]

I wanted to add something that i found interesting. Last night, I went to a local Macy's and bought the Nine West "Freda" pump. The male cashier asked me "is this a gift for someone?"

You should've told the guy those shoes were for you, and then wait for the response. I'm sure it wold've been comical!

[NewfieGuyInHeels]

I had a really great day shopping today, even if I didn't get what I want. I went up to the mall cause I knew the shoe store up there "Transit" had a sale on, all they're old stock were 50% off the sale price. There Were a pair of 4 inch stilletto black cowboy boots, $130, down to $80, then 50% made them $40 (canadian). Now for those who don't know, Transit is one of those shops where they have one of each shoe out for show, and you have to ask someone to get you your size in back. This would be my first time trying on women's boots in a store like this, So I summond up my courage and I said to the sales girl: "I'm sure you don't get alot of guys asking this, but those Cowboy boots there (pointng) do you have those in a 10?" "Nope, Just the 2 9's" "Is it alright if I try them on?" "Sure" And I was quite happy with the way she said it. There were no buggy eyes, no awkward smile or chuckle, it was just as if I asked to try on a guys shoe. As I was trying them on we made chit chat, she was saying how they were true to size cause of the pointed toe, and I said it was th shaft I was worried about cause I have thick calves (these boots had a zipper on the side but one that stopped 2 inches from the top making it a solid band around the calve... stupid) She said how she had thicker calves to and she could get them on. Sadly, these 9's weren't going on. They were tight in the foot, and too narrow in the calve, if they were 10's they would've fit, crappy! So I said thanks and she said yer welcome and I was on my way. Now that I've done that and seen the girls there are really professional dispite who's trying on what shoes, I won't be so nervous to try on a woman's boot next time I see something I liked. what was weird was when I went in the shop there were 2 customers just leaving the check out and it was like the shop cleared out just for me to try on the boots lol. One side was open to the mall, it's not like the store is deep, but still, in the little area they had, it was empty except for mt and the 2 sales girls. So, feeling a little bummed about the boots I decided I wasn't going home empty handed, so I went looking through the mall for other stuff... Got some movies, ended up getting a back up pair of my white jeans from Bootlegger, they were marked down to $4.99. Then I ended up at Zellars where (after trying on 6 pairs of different colors and sizes) I finally got a pair of jet black skinny jeans. Actually they're Gloria Vanderbelt Classic fit, but they fit awesome on me as Skinny jeans. And also at Zellars I got a pair of Black Patent Mary Janes with a 3.5 inch.... "not chunky but not thin" heel. Don't worry, pics to follow soon! but the jeans will look great with all my heels, i can't wait to do some pics to get feedback from all of you here. So tho I didn't get what I was after today, I did end up with a pair of cute shoes and nice jeans, AND discovered for myself that most sales girls are more understanding/professional than you may think Later all!

[RichardLynch]

I've always had good experiences in Faith. In one shop they went out of their way to give me a brochure listing all the styles they did in size nine.

I always used to avoid male sales assistants, but have never had bad or sniffy service. Two occasions stand out - one in Faith in Wimbledon, where the male assistant complimented me on my confidence trying on heels in the shop. I asked him if he often saw men buying heels. He said he'd only had that twice - and both the guys were really nervous - and shaking all over. I asked him if they tried them on, he said they didn't. He was amused by their furtiveness.

Hiya,

Funny enough, I work in Faith in Kingston. Wimbledon is our neighbour store and I love them there!! Lovely people!

Havent had any guys trying on heels in my store. only myself, behind the scenes!!

X

[bladerunner]

Well i will try and keep this short,i have now decided that trying on is the only way to go,the only restraint i have is time as in office recently bought some shoes and boots ad hoc as my car meter was running out! my most recent trips were whistles in wimbledon village absolutely brilliant shop,went in and tried on some m.kors wedge high heels reduced in the sale from £129 to £38,on enquiring on a size 40 i told the sales girl they were for me and she said that there was a changing room if i wanted but i opted for the front seat at the window!where upon she offered a drink and assisted while i tried them out,several shoppers came in but nothing was said,only brief glances.The assistant was really good and even phoned around some other branches to try and locate another pair i liked but to no avail. Dune on the kings road,saw some great suede boots in the sale,again asked for my size and said they were for me,sales girl thought i was joking at first and wouldnt believe i would try them on!WRONG! when she saw them she said they looked really good with my attire and then tried to get me to try some others on! A year ago i probably would not have been so bold,but now i have lost my inhibitions,you only live once and the majoity of people really couldnt careless what other people do,in fact with recent experience i have found mostly you can get away with most things,i now wear most days 3'' cowboy style boots whilst out working,they make alot of noise but are so comfortable that i couldnt give a monkeys what anyone else thinks,and guess what,nobody has said a word.

[Heelsftw]

Hello! I'm new here. I've been lurking for ever but today I've decided to share my experiences. I usually just buy from the internet and I've been lucky enough to pick the right size everytime. I've even done shopping in a store before but never tried them on. After reading so many interesting posts here I've decided to give it a run... and HOLY COW was it fun! It was during lunch time that I went and the store was kinda empty. It's a small store (in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn under the D train if anyone is interested) and there weren't that many customers. There were two sales ladies and they were very, very nice. "Professional" is the word I'm looking for. The sales lady first assumed I was buying a gift for the S/O, but I told her that I was looking for something for myself. Then immediately she proceeded to ask me what size I wear. I told her my size and she already started recommending shoes to me. After browsing for a bit, I found a pair of 4" pumps that I liked and it was very low priced. So she got a pair from the back and I asked to try them on. (too bad they didn't have any ankle straps that I liked, I would've loved to see if they'd help me with the strap). I walked around a little bit and we chat a little bit... but I found them just a bit tight. She then took it to the back and stretched with a machine (since they don't have next size up) and brought it back so I can try them again. I enjoyed the experience so much that I asked if I can just have them on my feet for a little bit longer to make sure they're comfy. We just chatted away. During the whole process a couple of people came into the store while I was just walking around in my new heels but, like many other people said, they did not even notice I was there. All in all the experience was great. The only thing that was a downer was the fact that she never mentioned how good the heels looked on me lol. Maybe I didn't look that good heheh. The sales lady even said that she works in another store down the street. I've decided to visit the other store next time, since they have more shoes. Anyway, I've typed enough. Happy heeling!

[Secreto]

I tend to try them on and I've had various responses from "what for you? Nah your joking", I tried them on and proved I could walk better in them than the assistant! To "yep, gad to help - you look brilliant!" Most of the time, I try them on - if the shop has many people in or I feel extremly nervous, which I do sometimes, I don't but most of the time... It's now part of the fun!

[Morty]

Purchased two pairs of knee high boots with 4" heels from Next, size 9 (43), tried both pairs on in the shop, wearing the black pair home, wore the brown pair all day Saturday 3rd Feb, swoping for a black thigh high rubber boots with 5" heels for a disco Saturday night, Great weekend

[Fog]

Hiya,

Funny enough, I work in Faith in Kingston. Wimbledon is our neighbour store and I love them there!! Lovely people!

Havent had any guys trying on heels in my store. only myself, behind the scenes!!

X

Hi Richard, I might just have to go shopping in Kingston! I don't get to Wimbledon so often since I moved to Sussex, but go to the Oxford Street and Brighton branches quite often.

By the way WELCOME to the forum. Working in Faith sounds like a dream job.

[Pumps]

By the way WELCOME to the forum. Working in Faith sounds like a dream job.

Hey, I don't care what Al Bundy says. Shoesalesman would be a great job. "Hey man, you're wearing heels ???" "Yeah I need to try them on to guide my customers". I have often thought about it. Heaven.

[FreeMannWorld]

If the shop have the shoes/boots I am interested in I'll try them on in the shop. But since I need US woman size 13-14 I can't find anything in the "normal" shops but have to shop where they have larger sizes and then of course they are used to male customers.

As a result of my size I buy most shoes/boots over the net.

I do have one shop nearby in Malmoe/Sweden (www.kingsizeskor.se) where they have a reasonable selection now a days but they are on the expensive side (7 SEK = 1 USD). (FYI:Damskor=Ladies shoes) They are of course used to having male customers and they are very friendly. Sometimes they actually asks how the last pair worked out and if I was happy with them. They even remembers which pairs I bought last time.... Impressive I think.

I was in Paris about a month ago and found quite a lot of shops with larger sizes but nothing really fancied me in most of them. I tried a few pairs and the staff were friendly there. But it is hard to make conversation with them unless you speak french.

One shop had a great selection (www.sacapuce.fr) up to size EU48 which is US woman 16 or something like that. But the staff there were the exception to the rule. When I asked for different models in my size they sure enough brought them but then they left again for some computerwork and I had to go over to them to ask them for some other model/size. Maybe they were used to male customers wanting to mind their own business without much assistance. I ended up buying these boots http://www.sacapuce.fr/grandes-tailles/img/photos/bottes/photos/cepalenoir.html

Now I am looking forward to go to London in March for some more heel shopping

/admirer

Hey nabo

Godaften You can try here... Oki price, and since you are neer by the can´t be so expensiv to send it to you...

http://www.skowolter.dk/ 42+

http://www.bodilsko.dk/ 42 somtimes 42+

http://www.victoriassecret.com/ 42+ and do send out to EU

Hope it help you a little.... Ses måske en dag

[admirer5577]

Hey nabo

Godaften You can try here... Oki price, and since you are neer by the can´t be so expensiv to send it to you...

http://www.skowolter.dk/ 42+

http://www.bodilsko.dk/ 42 somtimes 42+

http://www.victoriassecret.com/ 42+ and do send out to EU

Hope it help you a little.... Ses måske en dag

Hi FreeMannWorld

Yeah, we might meet one day. I am in Copenhagen rather regularily and it would be fun to meet up. Are you working downtown Cph or in a outskirt mall?

[pumpedup]

It would be an INCREDIBLE job! Al Bundy was a buffoon, but think of all the beautiful women that he touched the feet of.. The beautiful pumps placed on their feet. The flirting! It would get quite arousing. Plus, think of all the pumps you were trying on in the back room. Seeing the latest styles coming in would be a plus, too. I'm sure that's why a lot of men run women's shoe stores and departments of Macy's, Dillards, etc..

[Katrina]

...I'm sure that's why a lot of men run women's shoe stores and departments of Macy's, Dillards, etc..

Yeah...I continunally chicken out when trying to buy shoes at a Macy's type place because of that very reason.

[pumpedup]

Yeah...I continunally chicken out when trying to buy shoes at a Macy's type place because of that very reason.

I personally am very at ease in going into women's shoe departments and stores. I used to be really apprehensive, thinking "what if someone i know sees me buying pumps?" Now i don't care. I had a great saleslady helping me out at Macy's the other night. Unfortunately, they didn't have the Jessica Simpson pumps i was looking for, but they had some beautiful Steve Madden Mary Jane style pumps that caught my eye. Black patent, with the typical Mary Jane strap over the foot, and the vamp was very rounded, like a Mary Jane shoe. Very sexy and beautiful, so that's on my list of shoes to get!

here's a pic, by the way..

[Bubba136]

When talking about men working in women's shoe stores, Emery comes to my mind. I guess not many people here remember him. I'm sure if you search the archives, you'll find his writings on his adventures of a man wearing heels while working in a woman's shoe store.

[Pumps]

I never tried shoes in the store before yesterday. It wasn't a big deal really.

[Danielinheels]

When talking about men working in women's shoe stores, Emery comes to my mind. I guess not many people here remember him. I'm sure if you search the archives, you'll find his writings on his adventures of a man wearing heels while working in a woman's shoe store.

Found them!

http://www.hhplace.org/discuss/everybody/1787-emerys_shoestore_chronicles.html

[euchrid]

I have shopped for boots plenty of times now but I hadn't done any trying on in the shop before yesterday (the Heel Meet). By the end of that day though, I had slipped into quite a few, including:- + Calvera 'Wendy' knee boots in House of Fraser (absolutely stunning but a tad pricey at £140!) + spike-heeled ankle boots in John Lewis (also nice but £95!) + Ankle boots & stilettos in Shoe Express + some fetish platform boots & stripper heels in an indian-owned place (they didn't have the one's I really wanted to try in my size though - the swines). I can't wait to do it again. Next time I will be on my own though rather than with heel meet confederates! That's gonna make it soooooo much harder. I am determined to do it though. Why the hell not! I am (potentially) a paying customer after all!

[Bernheels]

I love your story. What do you tell the sale people when they ask why you are buying heels for yourself? I did it once in PayLess and loved it. One gal walked by a couple of times and never said anything. I want to do more - but really get nervous.

[Danielinheels]

Just tell them that you prefer women's shoes. It's what I do... and it's the truth. Not that it's a dare, or that I'm buying for Halloween... I did all those things when I was younger and they aren't nearly as enjoyable as just simply stating the truth. Very rarely will a salesperson go to the next level and ask why you ever tried on a pair of women's shoes in the first place; in that case, just respond: "My interest was piqued by a style I saw a while back, so I figured I'd try it on since I had nothing to lose. I found that I liked the shoes, so I bought them and have continued to shop women's styles for myself." You can then continue on how you like the style variety, the feel of heels, or whatver your motivation is.

[pumpedup]

It is kinda nerve-racking when you're in the ladies' shoe aisle/department and people galore are walking by. You happen to pick up a shoe, and check it out, and they're looking at you like you're nuts. I did that friday, at a local thrift shop. They were $3.99, and a pointy-toe black pump with pink detailing. They also have a strap, like a Mary Jane, that goes over the foot. Pretty little shoes and i got them for a song. I've NEVER told any salesperson at any store that the pumps are for me. I've always told them, whenever they've asked, that it's for someone else. 99% of the time, they don't ask. As i mentioned on this site before in one of the forums, someone at a thrift store asked me, "What are you buying those pumps for? Are you re-selling them?" I just replied, "you might say that." And i left it at that. I must have bought 20 or 30 pair from that store, easy, so they probably believe it.

[Danielinheels]

It is kinda nerve-racking when you're in the ladies' shoe aisle/department and people galore are walking by. You happen to pick up a shoe, and check it out, and they're looking at you like you're nuts. (snip)

There was once a time where I worried about this, especially in Payless stores where the mens and womens shoes are right next to each other. I don't like to be bothered by other guys, but I'll openly shop next to other women. It's a pretty good conversation starter, if a shoe you like is also there in her size... even if I've already tried them on, I'll put them on again, model them for a spell, then ask what she thought of them. More often than not, it opens the door for general fashion topics -- for example, if I were co-trying on this shoe:

She will likely tell me her opinion of the shoe, then ask how I would wear it. With something this simple I could easily answer "With nice straight-leg jeans and a collared shirt or screen t-shirt, depending on whether I were dressing up or down" and then get a read from her. With something more complex, like:

I'd be more inclined to turn the question on its head, and ask what she would wear. Judging from body types, I'd then gauge what I could do. Either way, it all makes for good shopping... which is another reason why I always make sure to try my potential shoes on first.

[FreeMannWorld]

There was once a time where I worried about this, especially in Payless stores where the mens and womens shoes are right next to each other. I don't like to be bothered by other guys, but I'll openly shop next to other women. It's a pretty good conversation starter, if a shoe you like is also there in her size... even if I've already tried them on, I'll put them on again, model them for a spell, then ask what she thought of them. More often than not, it opens the door for general fashion topics -- for example, if I were co-trying on this shoe:

She will likely tell me her opinion of the shoe, then ask how I would wear it. With something this simple I could easily answer "With nice straight-leg jeans and a collared shirt or screen t-shirt, depending on whether I were dressing up or down" and then get a read from her. With something more complex, like:

I'd be more inclined to turn the question on its head, and ask what she would wear. Judging from body types, I'd then gauge what I could do. Either way, it all makes for good shopping... which is another reason why I always make sure to try my potential shoes on first.

Good ider! i will try that some day ) I normaly tell/ask the salls persoen. But never the other shopers, but i like the idé!!!

[Firefox]

You have to try them on! Otherwise, how do you know if they will fit properly? There are many different kinds of last and toebox styles. It's impossible to know what size you need until you try them. The best ever tip I know is to shop for heels wearing heels. The fact that you walk into the shop in heels shows without saying anything that this is what you wear and thus you are serious about making a purchase. I know you may be serious about buying, but not want to wear them outside. There is a small price to pay for that in that you won't have the benefit of giving that unspoken signal.

[Danielinheels]

Good ider! i will try that some day ) I normaly tell/ask the salls persoen. But never the other shopers, but i like the idé!!!

You have to feel pretty strongly about whether or not that person will open the door for discussion. I've had this strategy backfire (the lady made it known that she was looking for a specific style and it simply didn't work out for her), I've been met with deadpan silence, and I've had success to the point where the young woman of the moment (a size 9) actually sympathized with me. Part of it is reading people (clearly I was wrong a few times) and part of it is just personal emboldening (not really being affected by being wrong).

I will say that no woman, when approached in this capacity, has ever run away laughing or, worse, feeling threatened; that is all in how you "rub off" on people. I'm really calm, even-keeled, and largely unassuming, which makes it inviting for others to talk with me. If you seem fun and seem as though you're genuinely having fun -- which, let's face it, this should be -- you never know who you might chat up.

[Firefox]

There's always the scenario of the guy who is borderline on the biggest street size. Say 42/43 or so. In that case you are just going to buy the 41 or whatever they do, and make it fit at home by modification. In that case there is not much point trying on in the shop. But I'd still reckon if you shopped wearing heels it would smooth the process. What do you guys think?

[Fog]

Shopping in heels for heels makes a world of difference. There's no question of what you're doing, you're looking for shoes - ladies shoes. It's obvious really.

[chris100575]

I agree with Fog, last time I went shopping for heels I was wearing a pair and I felt a lot more at ease. No worrying if people would think they were for me, and no reason why not to try on the new ones. Chris